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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23418535">if you can't stand the heat</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuoteMyFoot/pseuds/QuoteMyFoot'>QuoteMyFoot</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Mass Effect Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(for three houses), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Banter, Diplomacy, Future Fic, Gen, Investigations, Mass Effect 2, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Fire Emblem: Three Houses, of the very special Shepard kind</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 05:27:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,155</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23418535</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuoteMyFoot/pseuds/QuoteMyFoot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Shepard had no idea that Earth had its own eezo mine until Admiral Hackett sent her to investigate a series of mysterious sightings there. But who - or what - could be lurking in the the lava wasteland of Aillel, the Valley of Torment? All Shepard knows is that when she's around, the trouble tends to be big, ugly, and angry, so she's keeping her fingers crossed.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Normandy Crew &amp; Female Shepard</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>/r/FanFiction Prompt Challenge #17 / March 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Commander, there’s a new message at your private terminal.”</p><p>“Thanks, Kelly,” Shepard said, although she’d already seen the notification at the station.</p><p>The message was short and to the point.</p><p>
  <em>Commander,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>An urgent situation has arisen which needs your attention. Contact Anderson on the Citadel for more details.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I could really use your help on this one, Shepard.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Admiral Hackett</em>
</p><p>Shepard couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. As messages went, it was rather vague, particularly for Hackett – it wasn’t like him to be so cagey. The lack of detail was annoying, but as she closed the application on the terminal, the message concerned her more and more. Despite her currently being on a Cerberus vessel, Hackett hadn’t shied away from delivering more informative messages to her before – reluctantly, perhaps, but he had done it.</p><p>If this was <em>all </em>he was willing to tell her, it must be serious.</p><p>Shepard had already made up her mind. “Joker, set a course for the Citadel.”</p><p>“What, we going shopping again?”</p><p>Shepard ignored the jibe and tried to put the message out of her mind for now. No use in borrowing trouble. Enough trouble usually found her of its own accord.</p>
<hr/><p>Anderson rose to meet her as she entered his office. “At ease, Commander,” he said, waving away her salute. “There’s not need for such formalities after everything you’ve done.”</p><p>Sherpard could never quite be so at ease around the man who used to be <em>her </em>Captain, however. “I received a really vague message from Admiral Hackett telling me to come here. What exactly is going on?”</p><p>“I barely know more than you,” Anderson replied. He looked grave, though, and the slight smile that he’d greeted her with slipped from his face. “This goes above even me. Hackett asked to borrow a secure channel in the Ambassador’s suite. From what little he’s been able to tell me… it could be a serious threat to Earth’s security.”</p><p>
  <em>Well, this just keeps getting better and better.</em>
</p><p>Anderson opened the comm link, and a holographic Admiral Hackett appeared in the room. He nodded to Anderson. “I appreciate this. Let me know if there’s some way I can repay the favour.”</p><p>“Can you get the Council to listen to reason?” Anderson asked wryly, but he was already leaving the room. “I’m just taking a walk to clear my head. I have no knowledge of this conversation ever taking place.”</p><p>The door closed behind him, and Shepard locked it with a few touches of her omni-tool.</p><p>“Admiral.” She saluted. “What was so urgent?”</p><p>Hackett, as always, did not beat about the bush. “We may be dealing with an infiltration of Earth’s eezo mine.”</p><p>Shepard jerked back in surprise. Did she just hear that right? “Admiral?”</p><p>“This is strictly need to know information, Shepard. Even Anderson has no idea.” Hackett sighed. “Let me explain. You’re aware of Ailell Valley in Fódlan?”</p><p>She frowned, casting her mind back to old, old geography lessons as a child. “Sir… isn’t that called the Valley of Torment? Some kind of lava wasteland?”</p><p>“That’s correct. And it’s also the only known eezo mine on Earth.”</p><p>“I thought there <em>wasn’t </em>any eezo on Earth,” Shepard said. “At least not naturally occurring.”</p><p>Her mind was still reeling. If Earth had it’s own supply of eezo, then the war effort… the recalcitrance of the Council would be…</p><p>“There <em>is </em>no naturally occurring eezo on Earth, but the fact remains that there is a significant deposit of it on Ailell. What its origins are, we have not been able to discover, but it has remained a closely guarded secret since the days of the First Contact War. Now, with your discovery of Sovereign two years ago, it might be more vital than ever. As such, activity at the mine has increased – and that’s when we started receiving some disturbing reports.”</p><p>Despite his ominous words, Shepard’s heart felt lighter. Going about the galaxy and seeing everyone seem wilfully ignorant of the threat posed by the Reapers—to know that Hackett was taking <em>some </em>steps to prepare Earth for the inevitable conflict lifted some of the weight from her shoulders.</p><p>Hackett continued, “There have been signs of unauthorised figures wandering the wastelands – apparently with no protective gear – and even, in one description, some kind of monster.”</p><p>This made Shepard pause. “A… monster.”</p><p>He shook his head. “I suspect that whoever made that report had let the heat get to them and mistook something else – a shuttle craft, maybe.”</p><p>Shepard would love that to be the case, but her track record for discovering ‘impossible’, disturbing, and usually <em>hostile </em>things spoke for itself. Then the implications of what Hackett said fully hit her. A feeling of unease crept up her spine. “You think the mine has been discovered. That someone is… stealing from it?”</p><p>Hackett sighed. “Unfortunately, yes. And since the eezo mine in Ailell has always been nearly impossible to get accurate readings from because of the extreme environment, it’s impossible for us to gauge how much might be missing and how long this has been going on.” He shook his head. “And even if nothing has been taken <em>yet, </em>there are people who would pay dearly for this information. It could already be too late. If luck is with us, though, they will still be scouting out the area, and our discovery of their operation will come as a nasty surprise.”</p><p>Shepard folded her arms. “So you want me to go and deal with this mysterious group in Ailell. Why not just tell me this aboard the Normandy?”</p><p>“Because there’s not an outside chance that this ‘group’ is Cerberus themselves. If it is, the last thing we want is to tip them off.” The muscles in his jaw tensed for a moment. “Desperate times call for desperate measures, Shepard. I don’t begrudge you working with Cerberus to stop the Collectors. But the Illusive Man already has a concerning amount of influence and resources. I don’t know how many national secrets he’s compromised – and if he’s aware of this mine, it’s surely something he’s taken a great <em>interest</em> in.”</p><p>Shepard winced. The new Normandy and her crew – Miranda, Jacob, as well as the familiar faces – all of it had taken some of the sting out of her opinion of Cerberus. That had been the Illusive Man’s intent, no doubt. After seeing what his organisation had done to Jack and the other children on Pragia – or what was left of it – what little good faith she’d had in the Illusive Man had been destroyed, no matter what noises he made about how ‘regrettable’ the whole thing had been.</p><p>The idea that he might have access to the <em>most </em>secret Alliance information filled her with unease. “I’m going to guess that you wouldn’t want to give him any clue to the location of the mine in the event he <em>doesn’t </em>already know of it, so the Normandy is off the cards for this mission.”</p><p>“Exactly. As for your squad… choose wisely, Shepard. If this does get out to Cerberus – to <em>anyone –</em> it could be catastrophic. We can also offer you some support from Alliance military—”</p><p>“Garrus Vakarian,” Shepard said. She’d never normally interrupt a superior officer, but she was a firm believer that squads were grown, not made. If there was a choice, she’d <em>always </em>rather do a mission with her crew—her people. And a mission like this? Walking into an unknown, dangerous situation, and the need to keep secrets? There was no one she’d rather have at her side than Garrus.</p><p>Besides, he’d get the chance to make that ‘following you into hell’ joke again. He’d enjoy that.</p><p>Hackett frowned, but nodded. “Vakarian… he’s former C-Sec, but he’s shown great personal loyalty to you, Shepard. He’s acceptable.”</p><p>Shepard bit the inside of her cheek. Her second pick would be a harder sell. “Mordin Solus.”</p><p>“Former STG?” Hackett raised his eyebrows. “Shepard—”</p><p>“His technical expertise could be invaluable,” she argued. “He doesn’t work for STG any longer. He’s more concerned with his… personal work.”</p><p>His personal mission, rather, making up for his guilt in producing the genophage – not that, in Shepard’s opinion, it was really working. But something in him had changed since being confronted with Maelon’s experiments on Tuchanka. Shepard didn’t think he particularly cared about STG’s interests anymore.</p><p>“You have the quarian if you need technical expertise,” Hackett said.</p><p>“I don’t think it would be wise to take a quarian’s suit into a place like Ailell, sir.” Tali’s suit could certainly be upgraded to withstand such an extreme environment, but that was time and expense which could be better spent elsewhere… besides, Tali was dealing with her own issues right now and might be distracted.</p><p>Hackett frowned and rubbed his chin.</p><p>He was hesitating. Shepard carefully added, “Solus also has experience as a recon specialist. We could really use someone like that on this mission.”</p><p>He sighed. “Very well, Shepard, I will trust your judgement. You have my permission. I just hope this doesn’t come back to bite us. Who else would you take?”</p><p>She needed only a moment longer to think about it. Miranda and Jacob, of course, were out; Tali was out too; Shepard didn’t know how Thane’s condition would stand up to Ailell and didn’t particularly care to test it either, so that left… “Jack and Grunt, sir. They could both be considered loose cannons, but they owe me. I’d trust them with my life.”</p><p>“A krogan <em>would </em>be a valuable asset in an extreme environment like Ailell… And we can assume that Jack would be the last person to leak any useful information to Cerberus.” Hackett nodded to himself. “Alright, Shepard, you have my approval. Will you need additional support from the Alliance?”</p><p>“I’d rather go in with a small squad, sir. It will make it easier to fly under the radar,” Shepard answered. “The only thing we need is a pilot, but—”</p><p>“Already taken care of,” Hackett assured her. “There’s a ship waiting for you in Docking Bay 82. I’ll let them know who to expect. The Chief of Security at the facility will have more details for you on your arrival. Prepare however you think is necessary, but don’t tarry. We wouldn’t want Cerberus to become suspicious.”</p><p>Shepard saluted.</p><p>“Good luck, Shepard.” A tiny quirk of his lips broke through the gruff facade. “If there’s anyone who can take care of this, it’s you. Report back here when you return. Hackett out.”</p><p>The hologram faded away. Shepard returned to her omni-tool to unlock the door. There was no sign yet of Anderson’s return—he must’ve made sure to take a <em>very </em>long walk to give them all the time they’d need. She was disappointed that there wouldn’t be time to say goodbye to Anderson, but getting her hastily-put-together squad briefed and prepared in good time would be tricky enough already.</p><p>She opened a comm line to Joker. He could be relied upon to keep track of where everyone was coming and going on shore leave—the incorrigible gossip, not that she’d ever tell him that to his face. “Joker. Where you at?”</p><p>“Uh… I’m at a cafe. Why? Do you need someone to help you find your new favourite store on the Citadel? Because I know a great place for antique tech—”</p><p>Shepard sighed. “Joker, be serious. I need you to get in contact with a few members of the crew. Tell them to meet me in Anderson’s office.”</p><p>“Is this a private party, or can anyone join in?”</p><p>“It’s private,” Shepard said flatly.</p><p>Joker seemed to get the hint. “Oh. Sure thing, Commander. Should I assume this private party is also super super secret? Especially from our new best buds?”</p><p>He was too insightful for his own good at times. Shepard sighed. “Just ask Garrus, Mordin, Jack and Grunt to come up, please. Urgently.”</p><p>“Wow. I don’t think I want an invitation to this party any more, anyway.” But Joker understood her implicit orders in not answering his question, and he added, “I’ll keep it on the down low, Commander.”</p><p>“Thanks. Tell everyone else our shore leave has… been extended for a few days.”</p><p>“Oh, sure, just leave it to me to make up something plausible,” Joker said. “You’re lucky I have an answer to everything, Shepard.”</p><p>“Yes. It’s about time it came in useful for a change,” she answered dryly.</p><p>“Aw, Commander, you don’t mean that.” But he changed the subject very quickly: “Anyway, I already sent out your party invites. You guys have fun doing… whatever.”</p><p>“Speak to you later, Joker. Look after the ship while I’m busy…” She grimaced. <em>Trekking through a lava wasteland and maybe fighting biotic monsters. </em>“…partying.”</p>
<hr/><p>Whatever Joker had sent them, it did the trick. To Shepard’s surprise, Grunt was the first there, followed closely by Garrus and Mordin. Jack was last of all and looked the most sceptical, so Shepard kept the briefing extremely short and to the point and made sure to name drop the possibility of Cerberus involvement.</p><p>Predictably, Jack perked up at the idea, but Garrus shifted uneasily. When she dismissed everyone, giving them thirty minutes to gather their gear before meeting at D-82, he carefully drew her aside.</p><p>“Isn’t there an Earth saying about ‘biting the hand that feeds’?”</p><p>“It goes something like that,” Shepard said. “The rules are less clear when there are two different peoples’ hands involved.”</p><p>Garrus paused. “I… think I understood that.”</p><p>She laughed. “Let’s take the metaphors out of it. Cerberus might be allies right now, but… are they going to stand with us when it comes time to fight the Reapers?”</p><p>“It’s their necks on the line too, so you’d hope so.” Garrus shook his head. “But I’m not going to hold my breath.”</p><p>Shepard nudged him. “Prepare for the worst, hope for the best, remember?”</p><p>“Yeah.” He chuckled. “So, what do you think are the chances of us actually running into this ‘monster’?”</p><p>“I peg ‘em at a solid 40%.”</p><p>“Wow, Shepard,” Garrus said dryly. “After all that’s happened, you’re still an optimist.”</p>
<hr/><p>The ship arranged by Hackett was the spacefaring equivalent of a private jet, and it was the weirdest experience of Shepard’s life to be on board one. The sleek lines of the craft had obviously had money spent on them for comfort and aesthetics and less for defence, and she spent the entire trip fearing she would be blown out of the sky. <em>Again</em>.</p><p>“Not used to civilian travel? Discomfort?” Mordin asked her, in his odd, staccato way of talking. “Understandable. Find it strange myself. Flown a few times this way for engineering consults; never again. Relieved there are no in-flight staff.”</p><p>“They have in-flight staff on these things?” Shepard replied, alarmed. She hadn’t even thought about them.</p><p>Mordin shook his head. “Annoyances. Can find the <em>hors d'oeuvre</em> myself.” He offered Shepard a plate of them as he said this. “Food is good though. Should take advantage.”</p><p>“Thank you.”</p><p>“Good? It’s useless!” Grunt glared at the plates of food. “Why do humans make it so damn small? It would take a dozen of these plates to fill you up.”</p><p>Shepard considered, for a moment, how to explain the concept of <em>hors d’oeuvre</em> to a krogan. And then decided that life was too short.</p><p>“It’s because it’s fancy shit,” Jack said. She plucked some kind of mini tart off another plate. “It’s free fancy shit though, so who cares.”</p><p>“I noticed they’re not stocked for dextros.” Garrus sniffed. “Nice to be included.”</p><p>Shepard rolled her eyes. For a veteran turian officer to pout over not getting some nibbles… “I’ll buy you something of your own when we get back.”</p><p>“That’s a dangerous offer,” he said. “Did you know the Citadel boasts some of the most expensive dextro-exclusive restaurants in the galaxy?”</p><p>Shepard opened her mouth.</p><p>“No take backs!” Garrus said.</p><p>She sighed. “Fine, fine. Why not take Tali and you can both have a night on the town?”</p><p>Garrus shifted uncomfortably. “Well, I wouldn’t want to bankrupt you. Maybe I’ll just get take out.”</p><p>Shepard watched Grunt tip an entire plate of some kind of cream cheese salmon bite into his mouth and hoped the food was included in the mission expenses.</p>
<hr/><p>As the ship broke atmosphere, Shepard found herself experiencing a strange sort of nostalgia. She might not have been raised on Earth, but with humanity’s entrance onto the galactic stage still so recent, it was still <em>home </em>in an odd way – but like a childhood home, one you hadn’t lived in for decades. Seeing a clear blue sky out of the window instead of the inky-blackness of space and bright patches of stars was interesting in the way a museum exhibit was interesting. It didn’t <em>belong </em>to her.</p><p>Still, it was the centre of humanity, the core of their civilisation – it would’ve been nice if she could’ve shown off some of their history and culture to her crew, especially Garrus, who often complained about not understanding Joker’s references. Maybe then he would believe her when she said it was a Joker thing and not a human thing, and she wasn’t holding out on him on purpose.</p><p>But no. Instead, they were – very literally – visiting hell on earth.</p><p>The chatter died down in the last leg of the journey, the usual pre-mission nerves… apart from Mordin quietly humming Gilbert and Sullivan to himself. It didn’t sound like the usual song, but Shepard didn’t know enough to place it. Hm… maybe next time she should direct Garrus to Mordin. He had at least as good a chance of knowing Joker’s obscure Earth pop culture references as Shepard.</p><p>“<em>Making the final approach to the facility. Please ensure you are seated for our descent,” </em>said a smooth, computerised voice that made Shepard miss EDI – well, with luck they wouldn’t need her expertise or a quick pick up from the Normandy.</p><p>Garrus’s warning echoed in her ears. Maybe she was being too optimistic?</p><p>They had barely left the craft before they were met by a tall man with dark skin. His black hair was greying, but he was younger than Shepard expected. He saluted when she stepped off the plane. “Commander. Captain Imani here. Thank you for coming so quickly.”</p><p>“Thank Admiral Hackett, not me,” she said. She fell into step beside Imani as he strode through the station, setting a quick pace. “What’s the situation?”</p><p>“So far as we can tell, no incursions in the main facility – no security breaches in our systems either that we can detect.”</p><p>He stopped before a sealed door which required a fingerprint, retinal scan, <em>and </em>a number code to enter. She’d call it paranoia, but, well… it seemed the caution was warranted.</p><p>The door slid open and Imani stepped aside to allow her and the rest of the team in. Behind it was a long corridor with a number of branching doors, but what drew Shepard’s attention was the large window she could see at the far end, which gave a nearly uninterrupted view of the lava fields themselves.</p><p>Behind her, she heard the others mutter under their breaths. It was kind of impressive in its own way.</p><p>“Straight ahead, please,” Imani said. “We’ve set up a sort of… mission room at the end. It contains the largest, most detailed map of Aillel, so we’ve borrowed it for our purposes.”</p><p>Shepard nodded and strode down the walkway. Some of the other rooms had further locks – where the eezo was processed, she assumed. She hoped that could be sealed off in an emergency. Just in case. Things tended to <em>happen</em> to Shepard.</p><p>The room at the end must ordinarily be some sort of break room, although a very generously sized one. The large window covered the entirety of one wall, comfortable, low chairs were scattered around the edges of the room, and the map of Aillel… was an ornate table which took up a third of the space in the room’s centre.</p><p>Shepard pointed to it, raising an eyebrow at Imani.</p><p>He shrugged sheepishly. “Yes, it’s usually decorative. But it <em>is </em>totally accurate and covers the whole of Aillel, so it gives a useful overview.”</p><p>“If it works, it works,” Shepard said. “Grunt, leave the vending machines alone.”</p><p>Grunt sulkily walked back towards the table.</p><p>“This is very fancy, for an employee break room,” Garrus noted. “That window alone must have cost a bomb.”</p><p>Imani shrugged. “That’s how the facility was designed. Civilians are not permitted here, and neither are communications to the outside. To call out, you have to get permission to go to the nearest town. Everyone who works here is expected to live at least a year away from family and friends and to sign three different secrecy agreements.” He paused. “Four.”</p><p>“Huh.” Shepard stared at the rolling red hills, utterly devoid of any vegetation, the bubbling rivers of lava. You’d certainly get no other views like it on Earth. There was a strange, stark beauty to it. “So, the luxury is one of the compensations?”</p><p>“I believe that’s the intention.” Imani shrugged again. “Personally, I enjoy the isolation. I have been here for four years.”</p><p>You couldn’t get Shepard to do it for a million credits, that was for damn sure. But it was time to quit the chatter. She could already see a several places marked on the map and gestured at them. “So what do you have for us?”</p><p>Imani straightened. “Blue marks current dig sites. Black marks disused dig sites. White is the various sighting, and…” He lowered his voice as though embarrassed, but Shepard couldn’t read it from his expression. “…green is the, uh… where the ‘monster’ was seen.”</p><p>Shepard scanned the map until she found the green marker, far out of the way of any of the others. “What was someone doing all the way out there?”</p><p>“Scouting,” Imani said. “You might already have been told this, but it’s difficult to get accurate readings here because of the environment. So we have to send out small teams to look for other potential dig sites.”</p><p>“That’s pretty far off the beaten track.”</p><p>“Well…” He shifted in place. “We’ve been extracting the eezo at faster rates, lately. Some kind of emergency stockpile, I understand. Some of our scientists here estimate it could be fully depleted within a year. But like I said, it’s hard to be sure.” Imani shook his head. “Anyway, that particular scouting team had to take a detour as they were making their way back to base, so they were out longer than the recommended limit. The heat here is very intense, especially out there. It can really mess with your head.”</p><p>The more reassurances Shepard heard on this topic, the more dread she felt. She glanced at Garrus and he held up four fingers with a questioning glance. She returned it with a hand holding up five. He snorted.</p><p>“Who saw the monster?” Grunt asked brightly. Oh, he was probably looking forward to it, wasn’t he?</p><p>“Just one member of the team.” Imani frowned. “He said it passed by in an instant while the others were helping him after a fall – it passed overhead when only he was looking.”</p><p>“Did he get a rough idea of the size of this thing?” Shepard held up her hands. “How big are we talking? Shuttle sized?”</p><p>“Well… he thinks it was larger than that. Large as your average train car, maybe, plug wingspan. But it passed by fast and he was delirious when he returned back to base. I wouldn’t put much stock in it.”</p><p>Shepard sighed.</p><p>Mordin tapped at one of the white markers on the map. “Other sightings. Reported just as people. Figures? Seen at distance?”</p><p>Imani blinked at Mordin for a moment. The salarian did tend to have that effect on people, so Shepard couldn’t begrudge him. “Uh… yes… the first few—” He indicated a cluster of markers near to one of the three open mines – the one closer to the base, Shepard noted. “—we thought were just heat mirages, but then as the sightings started to pile up…”</p><p>There were only six white markers – and the green – on the whole map, which showed how quickly they’d begun to worry there might be a serious problem.</p><p>Mordin carefully looked between the points on the map with narrowed eyes. “These mines. Started first, closed earliest.” He gestured to some of the black markings. Imani started to nod, but Mordin made clear that it hadn’t been a question when he barrelled on without waiting for his answer. “Hm… yes. Makes sense. These mines newer, especially this one—” He pointed to another blue marker, which alone had three of the white sightings clustered near it. “—this one opened most recently. Done after first sightings. Had caution. Was done in secret. Element of surprise.”</p><p>“We, uh,” Imani replied hesitantly, “we weren’t trying to surprise anyone.”</p><p>“No, of course not.” Mordin sighed. “Did anyway.” He folded his hands in front of his face, humming thoughtfully for a moment – his favourite patter song. Shepard hoped that was a good sign. “Green… this monster. It was sighted most recently. What prompted our arrival, I expect. Correct?”</p><p>“There has been one other sighting since then, but that was when we decided we needed some outside help.”</p><p>“One more?” Mordin perked up with great interest. “Show me.”</p><p>Imani tapped a white marker on the table – the one, Shepard was curious to note, which was closest to the main facility. “This was two days ago.”</p><p>With a thoughtful hum, Mordin settled back into quiet. Shepard waited a moment to see if he was going to add anything, but he stayed silent. He would get back to her in a moment when he’d had time to mull it over.</p><p>In the meantime, she made her own assessment. The northern part of the map was totally unmarked. “I’m guessing they have a base somewhere in this area. You would have found it before now otherwise.” Shepard pursed her lips. “There haven’t been any signs of hostility? These people just seem to disappear, right?”</p><p>“That’s right,” Imani said. “It could be that they’re mirages after all, and the concerns about them have just driven people’s imaginations a bit wild, but…”</p><p>Garrus held up all six fingers. Shepard frowned at him until he put them away.</p><p>“Hm, movement makes that unlikely.” Mordin tapped the markers Imani had said represented the earliest sightings. “First seen here. Mines open in new territory. But then, no more sightings.” The next marker. “One here. Accidental. Last sighting.”</p><p>She realised what he was getting at. “If they were mirages, you’d expect to have them at every active mine, right? It should be pretty random. But it’s not. Once these people are seen at the mines, they disappear.”</p><p>“A retreat.” He pointed to the most recent mine. “Three sightings here. You moved in stealthily, caught them by surprise. Had to scramble to leave, maybe, took some time. Or perhaps even failed to realise your presence. Either way, soon vanished too.”</p><p>“They don’t want to be seen,” Shepard said. “Is that good or bad?”</p><p>“Up to now good. Not hostile forces. Cerberus or mercenaries would fight for territory. Especially eezo. Precious resource. Sells for high price. Worth risk! No.” Mordin shook his head. “These forces wished to avoid conflict. Avoid people.”</p><p>“That ‘up to now’ sounds very promising,” Garrus said dryly.</p><p>“Well…” Mordin paused. “Hard to say. But most recent sighting likely a scout. Only reason to come so far into occupied territory – so to speak.” He raised two of his fingers. “One possibility good, or neutral, one possibility bad. First case. Forces surprised to find facility’s scouts in previously unoccupied areas. Are trying to discern its purpose and movement. Watching facility, looking for answers. Still fundamentally non-hostile approach.”</p><p>“And the bad possibility?” Shepard prompted.</p><p>“Scouts have seen something they were not supposed to,” he answered gravely. “Retreat no longer working. Their scouting is to discern weak points. Preparing to strike, eliminate threat.”</p><p>“And how are we supposed to know which one it is?” Garrus asked.</p><p>“If you get shot at,” Mordin said, “assume hostility.”</p><p>Garrus gave Shepard a pointed look.</p><p>She sighed. “Alright. Seventy percent.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Written for the r/FanFiction March monthly challenge, the crossover special. The prompt was Mass Effect and Three Houses and, well, I think I came up with something interesting... stay tuned for more.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Imani wanted to show Shepard more of their data, but Shepard had never been one for waiting around and analysing. They had as much info as they would get from sitting around and talking about things: now it was time to go out there and take a look.</p><p>Suiting up turned out to not be as simple as Shepard had hoped. The facility barely managed to find an environmental suit that would fit Garrus – with some tweaks – and they had absolutely nothing for Grunt.</p><p>“The environmental suits aren’t a complete necessity,” Imani said. “The atmosphere is breathable. It will just take a heavy toll on you. I don’t recommend spending much time with your helmet off, put it that way.”</p><p>“Buncha wimps,” Grunt mumbled.</p><p>“We can’t all be krogan, Grunt,” Shepard said tiredly.</p><p>Jack, meanwhile, was swinging her head about like an inquisitive meerkat. Shepard was confused until Jack cursed and said, “Peripheral vision turns to shit in these things.”</p><p>Shepard donned her own helmet and understood what she meant. “We’ll have to keep a close eye on each other. Grunt, I guess this makes you lookout.”</p><p>“Do I get first shot, then?” Grunt asked.</p><p>“Sure, ladies first,” Jack said. When Grunt growled at her, she simply laughed.</p><p>“No in-fighting on the mission,” Shepard said.</p><p>“I’m just teasing our crew’s baby.” Jack smirked when Grunt snarled at her. “What? You’re like, what, a month old? Baby.”</p><p>She could practically see the cogs turning as Grunt tried to find some way to counter this, failed, and then spat, “Ha! Fine then. This baby will take the lead for you, <em>grandma</em>.”</p><p>Jack scowled at him. “Grandma? I’m not even twenty-five!”</p><p>“Hmph. And weren’t you bragging about having the power of an asari matriarch?” he retorted. “<em>Grandma.</em>”</p><p>“What kind of shitty logic is that?” Jack rolled her eyes. “Asshole. You should treat your seniors better.”</p><p>“Sorry, Grandma.”</p><p>“Ugh.”</p><p>Shepard, meanwhile, was just surprised Grunt remembered that conversation at all. Not to mention Jack herself, who’d been three seconds away from passing out when she yelled that at Samara. Shepard had had to check there weren’t any Justicar rules against braggarts just for her own peace of mind. (Not unless the act of bragging supported some other kind of crime, Samara had said. At least… Shepard was pretty sure that was the gist of it.)</p><p>“I believe relative to expected lifespan, <em>I </em>am the closest to grandparent figure here,” Mordin said. He seemed amused by the idea. What a morbid sense of humour. Not that Shepard could really complain. She was still getting good mileage out of that ‘I slept like the dead’ joke. Chakwas winced every single time!</p><p>Imani was giving them all a bit of an odd look. If ‘I met Commander Shepard and all I got was this lousy t-shirt’ was a look, it would be Imani’s exact expression right at this moment.</p><p>“Don’t worry, Captain,” Shepard said. “They’re unorthodox, but they’ll get the job done.”</p><p>“O-Of course, Commander!” Imani replied, straightening his back. “Your record speaks for itself.”</p><p><em>Damn straight, </em>Shepard thought. <em>All the impossible bullshit included.</em></p>
<hr/><p>A shuttle would’ve been too visible, so they took one of the facility’s Hammerheads. They had a Mako, too, but Shepard turned that one down for the sake of speed and because of Garrus’s muttered, ‘Just let me get my sickbag.’ She thought this was unfair, as no one had ever actually thrown up <em>in</em> the Mako, but there was something to be said for arriving there without everyone being bruised from being tossed all over the place.</p><p>Navigating from landmarks was nearly as difficult as getting the equipment to spit out an accurate reading, it mainly being various shades of brown rock, lava, and heat mirage. It took nearly an hour before Shepard was satisfied they’d reached roughly the right area and asked everyone to disembark.</p><p>“Shouldn’t we take the car further?” Garrus asked. “It could be good cover.”</p><p>“It’s a Hammerhead,” Shepard said. “We’ll be better off with the rocks.”</p><p>And then they’d lose their getaway vehicle, which could be awkward. Garrus gave the Hammerhead a suspicious glance.</p><p>“Alright, squad, keep your eyes peeled, but don’t get trigger happy. If these guys <em>don’t </em>have hostile intentions, we don’t want to give them a reason to change their minds,” Shepard said, waiting a moment for everyone to nod. “Alright, anyone see any likely places to start looking?”</p><p>Mordin briefly lifted the visor of his helmet for a better view, recoiling from the heat. For a salarian, it must be especially intense, and Shepard was hardly comfortable herself, even in the suit. Mordin quickly slipped it down again. “Mountains. No other obvious cover or place for hideout. May have made base in a cave.”</p><p>“It’ll be real easy to spring an ambush on us from the high ground, Shepard,” Garrus said – casual, as though remarking on the weather. He held his gun loosely, but there was a ready tenseness about him that Shepard recognised from long familiarity.</p><p>Grunt snorted before she could see anything. “Let ‘em come! I’ll—”</p><p>“—Let us know if anything is coming,” Shepard finished for him. “Thanks, Grunt.”</p><p>He slumped, disappointed, whilst Jack snickered, but the last thing Shepard wanted right now was a battle hungry krogan to go charging off without so much as a warning.</p><p>“Cut the chatter now,” Shepard said. “Jack, I want you to hang in the back and guard our rear. Your biotic barriers might be the only cover we get.”</p><p>She scowled, but after a moment she simply snorted. “Whatever.”</p><p>They were a tense party, and the dangerous ground only made things worse. Several times they were forced to cross narrow stone walkways over flowing lava, a position – as Shepard was painfully aware – which left them extremely vulnerable.</p><p>But there were no ambushes. The more that nothing happened, the more tense everyone became, until—</p><p>“What’s that?” Grunt asked, pointing into the distance.</p><p>Shepard thought, at first, that it was merely a large, misshapen rock, just another part of the mountainous terrain. Then a part of it shifted. It became clear how large it was when the movement resolved itself into an enormous wing, and the creature raised a head that was about as large as Grunt was tall.</p><p>Garrus cursed, raising his rifle, but he didn’t fire.</p><p>“Is that a fucking <em>dragon?</em>” Jack hissed, as the creature unfurled another wing and flapped them a few times, as though testing their strength.</p><p>But it was looking in their direction as it did so, and Shepard thought it was meant to be more like a threat.</p><p>“Obviously not,” Mordin said. “Creature has feathers. Dragons are reptilian! Most likely could be classified as a griffon.”</p><p>“Because that is <em>so</em> much better.”</p><p>Grunt lifted his gun. “We gonna do a warning shot or what?”</p><p>“No!” Shepard snapped. “The damn thing’s already on edge, no need to set it off.” He had a point, though – if it <em>did</em> attack, it would have a huge advantage over them in the air. “Everyone take aim and be ready, but don’t fire. Jack, give me a barrier.”</p><p>She waited for Jack to give her an affirmative and then holstered her gun, taking careful steps forward and ignoring Garrus’s worried snarl of, <em>‘Shepard!’</em></p><p>“Are you going to try reasoning with a damn dragon?” Jack asked. After a beat, she corrected herself: “Fine, a <em>griffon.</em>”</p><p>Shepard assumed Mordin had been involved, but she didn’t dare turn her head. The more she stared at the griffon, the more she became aware of the sheer <em>scale</em> of it. At least the Thorian had had the decency to remain stationary. Still, she tried to project confidence into her voice as she said, “Whatever’s been going on, these beings have clearly been thinking and reacting intelligently. That means they can be negotiated with.”</p><p>She kept her nerve and didn’t flinch when the griffon leapt down onto lower ground and still towered over them. She knew her team had her back.</p><p>Closer to the creature, it was clear how birdlike it really was. It opened it’s beak and said, “What are you doing here, <em>humans?</em>”</p><p>“Griffon does not appear to possess translation chip,” Mordin called from behind her. “Cannot detect any form of tech on it.”</p><p>Well. That could make things more difficult. “Can you understand us?” she asked.</p><p>The griffon hissed and extended its long neck towards Shepard, barely stopping short of the biotic barrier. Could it detect it? Was it also biotic? “Do not mistake me for an ignorant monster, human. I know well your kind.”</p><p>So it seemed to have some kind of grudge against humans already. <em>Great. I should’ve made Garrus take this job instead. </em>“I didn’t mean to cause offence,” she said carefully, raising her hands in a gesture of surrender. “My name is Commander Shepard. I’m here on behalf of the mining facility. I—”</p><p>“So <em>you </em>are one of the ones who have been driving us from our home,” the creature spat. “It’s not enough to slaughter our kind and take over the whole earth! Now, what little is left untouched, you insist on taking too!”</p><p>It finished with a roar that caused the biotic barriers to flicker. Well, dragons had fire, so why the hell not, she supposed. “I’m sorry,” Shepard said. “I’m not aware of any injustice which has been done to your people, but I promise you, I will personally see to it that anyone involved is punished—”</p><p>Worryingly, the creature began to laugh – a loud, screeching laugh which was like nails on a chalkboard to Shepards’ ears. “You know nothing of what you speak. How typical of humans. You forget so <em>easily. </em>Well I neither forget nor forgive, <em>human.</em>”</p><p>Its claws scored deep grooves in the dirt as it fixed its beady yellow eyes on her. This was spiralling very rapidly out of control. “I know I’m ignorant, but I would like to learn,” she said, trying to keep her voice level against the pounding of her heart in her ears. “The humans at the facility weren’t aware of your presence. I’m sure we can negotiate—”</p><p>With a screech, the griffon raised its claws and in a flash brought them down on the barrier. Shepard heard Jack curse, but it held and the creature let out a roar of pain when a bullet struck one of its wings.</p><p><em>Why does the diplomatic approach never work for me?</em> Shepard wondered. <em>Am I cursed?</em></p><p>The injury didn’t seem to hinder the creature too much and it leapt into the air in the time it took for Shepard to draw her gun. Grunt took a potshot at it in the air, but it missed. Shepard tracked it with her gun as it circled them. “Anyone got any ideas?”</p><p>“The wing joints are a likely weak spot,” Mordin supplied. “Eyes, of course…”</p><p>“Give me a second and I can get a hit,” Garrus said.</p><p>But before he could take the shot, the griffon extended its neck and <em>bellowed </em>at them, the wind of its breath becoming visible. The wind hit the ground with enough force to nearly knock Shepard off her feet, and Jack’s barrier shattered.</p><p>“What the fuck was that?” she snarled.</p><p>The griffon dived at them but screeched in displeasure when it met another barrier. Its claws were inches away from Shepard’s head before she took a step back. “Jack, you good?”</p><p>“Yeah I’m fucking good,” she replied, though her voice was strained. With less viciousness, she added, “The force took me by surprise. Won’t happen again, Shepard.”</p><p>Shepard caught her eye, saw the steel in it, and nodded.</p><p>Grunt fired and hit the griffon in the side of its face, snapping its head around with an unearthly cry of pain. It backed away and Shepard managed to squeeze off a round into its leg before it took to the sky again. Drops of blood splattered the ground where it had been, but it seemed like nothing compared to the size of the creature itself.</p><p>“This is going to get us nowhere,” Shepard growled. However strong Jack was, her barriers wouldn’t last forever, and then they’d be sitting ducks to that wind attack. “Mordin, how do you think your cryo tech will hold up in this heat?”</p><p>“Poorly,” Mordin said wryly. “But… hm… overclock the system, the power would be sufficient…”</p><p>“Mordin. Can you freeze a wing?”</p><p>“Yes.” He tapped something on his omni-tool. “I need… 3 minutes and 42 seconds.”</p><p>That was one of the things she liked about Mordin. He knew exactly what he was capable of. Some of those things were awful, but still – it was a good thing to know about yourself. “Alright. I’ll signal you when we’re ready.”</p><p>Shepard didn’t want the griffon to have time to think what Mordin was doing, so she, Garrus, and Grunt kept up a rain of suppressive fire. It didn’t <em>suppress</em> much on a creature of such a size, but it did keep it distracted. One of Garrus’s shots caught it in the face, only a little above its eyes, and the blood obscured its vision, giving them a greater advantage.</p><p>The creature retreated, circling above them – not impossible to reach with a sniper rifle, but extremely hard to hit.</p><p>“Ready when you are, Shepard,” Mordin said.</p><p>“Wait until it dives again.” She squinted against the sunlight, trying to discern any tells. “We only get one shot at this, so we better make it count.”</p><p>“<em>Do</em> we only get one shot at this?” Garrus asked as an aside to Mordin.</p><p>“Not precisely, but recharge time of approximately two hours. Justified exaggeration for dramatic effect.”</p><p>She sighed. It was nice to know her team had her back. In everything.</p><p>The creature shrieked again, pulling all of Shepard’s focus onto it. The way it extended its neck looked like the same breath attack it had used earlier, but even Shepard could tell it had barely any effect, even before Jack scoffed. “It thinks it can squash us with <em>that?</em>”</p><p>It continued to circle them.</p><p><em>Come on, </em>Shepard thought. <em>Dive. Dive! You still have manoeuvrability.</em></p><p>Still, it circled. Jack’s barrier was a bubble over their heads, no glaring weaknesses – it had to be overcome with overwhelming strength.</p><p>
  <em>Come on. Do the math.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Dive!</em>
</p><p>The griffon let out a shriek loud and long enough to rattle Shepard’s teeth, and then it dove at them, dropping with all the speed and intensity of a missile.</p><p>Shepard held her hand up for just a moment, sensing only the heartbeat in her mouth, the blood rushing in her ears and the rapidly shrinking space between her and the griffon—</p><p>She dropped her arm.</p><p>The creature was barely seconds away from them when ice crystals began to form in its feathers, growing quickly into an enormous clump of ice that dragged it, screeching, off balance. It crashed into Jack’s biotic shield and she gritted her teeth, falling to her knees, but it held.</p><p>Jack extended an arm and made a fist, and the griffon was pushed away from them. The barrier finally flickered and died and Jack’s shoulders slumped. She was breathing heavily.</p><p>“Good thinking,” Shepard said.</p><p>“Fuck you,” Jack replied. But there wasn’t even a third of the usual venom in it, so Shepard took it as a positive ‘fuck you’.</p><p>Shepard advanced on the griffon with her sights trained on its head. It was still dangerous, even with one wing immobile. She stopped out of reach of its claws and beak and double-checked to make sure everyone else had done the same. Good.</p><p>This time, Shepard didn’t put her gun away. “We don’t <em>want </em>to kill you,” she said, enunciating each word carefully. The creature could see the ‘but I can and will’ for itself. “Like I said, we’re just here to negotiate. There must be some agreement we can come to. What do you want? Why are your people here? Who are you?”</p><p>The griffon’s eyes flickered from her to Mordin to Garrus and back again. It hissed.</p><p>Shepard was aware that it would only be down for a limited amount of time, and if they fought more, the outcome was less likely to be in their favour. She would have to end it before that could happen.</p><p>But she was tired of fighting people. The Collectors, the Reapers—those were the galaxy’s true enemy. Anyone else she killed was just doing their work for them.</p><p>“I’ll ask you one last time.” Shepard lay her finger by the trigger. “Who are you?”</p><p>There was a long pause. She held her breath and counted the seconds carefully. <em>3… 2…</em></p><p>“My name is Macuil,” the creature said.</p><p>“Macuil,” she repeated. She kept the relief out of her voice, but she relaxed her stance a little. “Alright, now we’re getting somewhere. What—”</p><p>“Shepard, we got another one!” Grunt’s shout was punctuated with a blast from his shotgun and Shepard cursed, automatically scanning the skies—</p><p>A shot from Garrus’s rifle diverted something sharp away from her face, even if it left her ears ringing. Shepard saw something pull away from her face out of the corner of her eye and she whirled around to see that their opponent wasn’t another griffon, but a green-haired woman with… <em>Is that a sword?</em></p><p>Lightning quick, the woman lashed out and the sword extended in segments, slashing at Grunt’s hands. He stumbled and dropped the shotgun, but he grabbed the sword as the woman tried to retract it, heedless of the edges digging into his hands. He yanked it toward him and the woman stumbled forward, then dashed closer of her own accord—Shepard heard the whistle of a bullet and Garrus’s curse; it had passed behind the woman, missing her by inches.</p><p>Grunt was in the way when Shepard tried to get off her own shot as the woman fought him for her sword. He headbutted her and she reeled, but recovered fast and punched Grunt in the stomach. He folded and she ripped the sword from his hands, dancing backwards as he tried to grab her again.</p><p>The sword retracted and the woman brought it up to her shoulders, where it deflected a bullet from Shepard’s gun.</p><p>“What the <em>hell</em> is that thing made from?” Garrus muttered.</p><p>Shepard was equally dumbfounded as the woman showed further preternatural reflexes, ducking or dodging every bullet seemingly before she even knew it was coming. <em>And she’s strong enough to wind a krogan… she might look human, but I don’t think any number of cybernetic enhancements could take a human to this level.</em></p><p>Even though the only one to get a hit on her had been Grunt, the fight seemed to have tired the woman out after only a minute—just as aware and tense as before, Shepard noted, like a real professional, but unmistakeably tired. Her shoulders heaved with every breath.</p><p><em>Perhaps it’s some kind of intense… super mode? Like an overclock mechanic? </em>Shepard hated that she was looking to video games to explain alien physiology, but the analogy fit too well. Unlike a video game, Shepard couldn’t count on such a ‘super mode’ having a long cooldown.</p><p>There was still the griffon, too, of course. Macuil. Mordin had been keeping it pinned down, and it had yet to take to the air again.</p><p>“Byleth!” Macuil hissed. “You should not have come!”</p><p>The woman acknowledged him with a flicker of her eyes, before her gaze settled back on Shepard. “Take your people and leave this place.” Her voice was utterly calm.</p><p>“I can’t do that right now,” Shepard said, “but if you’d just—”</p><p>Byleth <em>moved</em>, darting towards her with incredible speed. Shepard was forced to deflect the sword with her gun. Knowing she’d be left open, Shepard lashed out at Byleth with her omni-blade, but the woman somehow stopped dead and hopped out of its reach at the last possible moment.</p><p>Shepard growled, but it gave her a moment to bring her gun level again. Even though it was point blank range, the woman still threw herself aside in the split-second before Shepard pulled the trigger, letting the bullet go sailing through the space she had just occupied.</p><p>Or—no. When Shepard swore and backed away, she saw red begin to stream down the woman’s cheek from a large gash. Her ear had been torn in half, and what of her green hair hadn’t been sheared off by the bullet was matted with blood.</p><p><em>So she <strong>can</strong> be hit,</em> Shepard thought grimly. How many point blank hits would it take to put her down, though?</p><p>Byleth raised the sword.</p><p>It was almost in slow motion that Shepard watched it split. Her stomach dropped out from under her when she realised Byleth was looking past her – at Garrus. At the speed it could move—</p><p>For a terrible moment she waited for the sword to slice past her, but it didn’t come. The woman’s stoicism broke with a tiny furrow in her brow. Her sword seemed suspended in the air, but when Shepard took two strides to the right to put herself between it and Garrus she saw the small singularity Jack’s biotics had made behind the woman, pulling the sword towards it.</p><p>“Byleth!” Macuil again, harsher and more urgent. Shepard risked a glance at the griffon, but seeing that he wasn’t threatening Mordin – wasn’t even looking at Mordin – she took steps back and let the griffon approach.</p><p>“Shepard,” Garrus said warningly.</p><p>“I know.” She rolled her shoulders to loosen the tension in them a little, just in case. “I think it will turn out in our favour.”</p><p>Garrus snorted. “You are <em>so </em>lucky I trust <em>your </em>lucky ass.”</p><p>“Yep,” Shepard replied cheerfully. “Sure am.”</p><p>He didn’t seem to have an answer to that.</p><p>“Byleth, you can’t fight them,” Macuil said. He shifted his wings – not to take flight; it looked almost like how a human might shrug. “They… wished to negotiate.” He paused. “And you’re losing.”</p><p>
  <em>That’s what losing looks like to you?</em>
</p><p>The woman’s head snapped to him and then back to Shepard. Her eyes narrowed. “Then why the fight?”</p><p>“We didn’t want to start a fight,” she said, “but we’ll sure as hell end one if pressed.”</p><p>“I meant last time.”</p><p><em>Last time? </em>Shepard exchanged a look with Garrus. Either the people at the facility had lied to them, or… “We weren’t aware of any previous conflict between our people and yours,” she answered carefully.</p><p>Byleth studied her a moment longer, and then slowly, minutely—relaxed. “You do fight differently than them. Better. And they didn’t have…” She gestured at Garrus. “Aliens.”</p><p>“Cerberus?” Garrus suggested, low enough that only Shepard could hear.</p><p>She frowned. Unnecessary complications seemed to be the bane of her existence. “What colour armour did they wear?”</p><p>“White and orange,” Byleth replied at once. Despite the blood still flowing from her injury, she did not seem disturbed at all, tilting her head curiously like a bird. “You know of them?”</p><p>This could get awkward fast. Best to save the <em>whole </em>truth for when there was a little bit more trust. “The group you ran into is called Cerberus. We’re here on behalf of the nearby facility, which is run by the Alliance.” She lowered her gun. “The facility mines important resources in this area and they were concerned it had been infiltrated when they saw you, so we were called in. It seems like your people have been living here a long time without posing any threat, though, so I’m sure we can come to some kind of arrangement that suits everybody.”</p><p>Shepard was pretty pleased with herself for this spin. Byleth seemed pleased, too, a small smile gracing her features – although it may also have been directed at the griffon. She shook her head at him and said, “Mac, you talk too much.”</p><p>“I told you not to call me that ridiculous name,” he grumbled. “You are no family of mine.”</p><p>“Uncle Mac!” another voice called. “Byleth! Is the fighting over?”</p><p>A young woman with long, green hair, a darker shade than Byleth’s, was scrambling down the mountain behind them.</p><p>“I told you to head <em>back,</em>” Byleth said to her, her voice filled with real emotion for the first time – annoyance. Shepard felt a moment of kinship with her.</p><p>“You might have needed me,” was the reply. She raised her hands, which glowed with a bright light. “In fact, you did!”</p><p>Shepard watched in amazement as the swelling around Byleth’s nose shrank, the cut in her cheek healed, and the torn ear knit itself back together. <em>What kind of ability <strong>is </strong>that? </em>Shepard wondered. Biotics had seemed like magic to humanity half a century ago, but in all her travels across the galaxy, she’d never heard of a species that could heal like that. The young woman stepped back with a satisfied smile until she realised everyone’s gun was trained on her.</p><p>“Sorry. Flayn is a healer. Non-combatant,” Byleth said quickly. She sheathed her sword and raised her hands in a peaceful gesture, so Shepard signalled for everyone to holster their guns, too. “Although she should know better than to <em>walk into the middle of a fight.</em>”</p><p>“The fighting was over,” Flayn mumbled sheepishly.</p><p>Garrus was the last to put his fun away. Shepard had to glare at him.</p><p>After a pause, Flayn brightened. “I can help you as well, if you like!”</p><p>She was talking to Grunt, and perhaps didn’t recognise angry suspicion on a krogan, because she beamed at him and didn’t wait for a response – Grunt seemed to forgive her, anyway, when the cuts on his hands closed up as smoothly as they had on Byleth.</p><p>“Huh,” Grunt said, staring at his hands. He turned them over and stared some more. “<em>Huh.</em>”</p><p>
  <em>Okay, he could be doing this for a while. Let’s move on.</em>
</p><p>Subtly shaking her head at Mordin, who looked like he wanted to interrogate Flayn then and there, Shepard offered a hand to Byleth to shake. “Is there somewhere more comfortable we could go to talk?”</p><p>Taking the offered hand, Byleth seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding. “Sure. Our base is more comfortable – even if we only meant it to be temporary.”</p><p>A hint that they wouldn’t be found there again if things turned sour, but still a bigger show of trust than Shepard had dared hope for.</p><p>“By the way,” Jack said, feigning casualness. “The other group you met, in the white armour – what did you do with them?”</p><p>“I killed them,” Byleth said bluntly.</p><p>She seemed startled when Jack grinned. “Good riddance.”</p><p>“Aw, look.” Garrus leaned to whisper in Shepard’s ear. “The problem child is making friends.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Uh... well, this took longer than anticipated. Oop. </p><p>I hope the fight scenes turned out well - I tried to show off boths sides evenly though Byleth's time powers are pretty OP. Still, there was a timeline in which taking a headbutt from a krogan was the optimal outcome, so it's not the be all and end all. I would love to know your thoughts on the fights!</p><p>Next chapter: The Lore(TM). ETA: hopefully not too far into 2021.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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